During a Senate inquiry, former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte revealed that he had operated a 'death squad' of gangsters to eliminate criminals while serving as mayor of a southern Philippine city. However, Duterte denied giving orders to police to execute thousands of suspects in the controversial anti-drug campaign during his presidency, which is under scrutiny by the International Criminal Court for potential crimes against humanity.
Duterte, 79, made his first public appearance since the end of his term in 2022 at the televised inquiry. The Senate is investigating the unprecedented scale of drug-related killings that occurred under Duterte's administration.
